Invalid lift apparatus

ABSTRACT

An invalid lift apparatus for raising an invalid or hospital patient from bed. The apparatus includes a generally horizontally extending rectangular frame which may be raised and lowered by head and foot scopes which are supported by head and foot frames. Each of the scopes includes a vertically extending tubular support which is telescopingly mounted on a tubular member within the frame and which supports one end of the rectangular frame. A pair of stationary pulleys are rotatably mounted within each of the head and foot frames, and a movable pulley is rotatably mounted below the stationary pulleys for movement with the tubular member. A cable is reaved over the three pulleys of each frame and connected to a winch, and the movable pulleys can be raised or lowered by winding or unwinding the cable on the winch. A sheet is secured to the rectangular frame for supporting the patient, and the sheet may be provided with an elongated central opening to permit the sheet to be passed around the patient. A boom is mounted on the head frame for lifting the patient to a sitting position or completely out of bed, and the cable extends through the boom and is connected to a lift bar. The lift bar can be raised or lowered by the winch by securing the head and foot scopes against movement.

United States Patent 1 Primary Examiner--Casmir A. Nunberg Attorney-Dawson, Tilton, Fallon & Lungmus Spivey [4 Aug. 7, 11973 INVALID LIFT APPARATUS [75] Inventor: Joseph W. Spivey, Lake Wales, Fla. [57] ABSTRACT An invalid lift apparatus for raisin an invalid or hos i- [73] Asslgnee' Lake wales tal patient from bed. The apparat us includes a gen r- [22] Filed: July 16, 1971 ally horizontally extending rectangular frame which may be raised and lowered by head and foot scopes App! l63165 which are supported by head and foot frames. Each of the scopes includes a vertically extending tubular sup- [52] U.S. Cl. 5/63, 5/83, 5/85 p which is t escop g y mounted n a tubular mm- [51] Int. Cl A6lg 7/10, A61 g 1/02 b within a e a wh pp t one end f the [58] Field 6! Search 5/68, 67, 63, 64, rectangular hams- A P of stationary P y are 5/65, 81, 83, 84, 85 tatably mounted within each of the head and foot frames, and a movable pulley is rotatably mounted [56] Rem-mic Cit d below the stationary pulleys for movement with the tu- UMTED STATES PATENTS bular member. A cable is reaved over the three pulleys l 312 439 8/1919 of each frame and connected to a winch, andthe mov- H1893 able pulleys can be raised or lowered by winding or un- 2692h69 10/954 winding the cable on the winch. A sheet is secured to 5 5 12/1891 the rectangular frame for supporting the patient, and R10,773 10/1886 the sheet may be provided with an elongated central 2,913,737 11/1959 opening to permit the sheet to be passed around the pa- 638,755 12/1899 tient. A boom is mounted on the head frame for lifting 3,45l,070 Danielson 5/83 the patient to a sitting position or completely out of FOREIGN PATENTS 0R APPLICATIONS bed, and the cable extends through the boom and is 1,930,789 12/1970- Germany 5/63 muted a 1m The lift bar can be raised ered by the winch by securing the head and foot scopes against movement.

E-Cialms, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUG 7 I975 sum am 3 tus;

BACKGROUND This invention relates to a lift apparatus, and, more particularly, to a lift apparatus particularly suitable for use with invalids or patients confined to bed.

There is often a need to move or lift an invalid or patient in bed. For example, it may be desirable to elevate the head or foot of the patient, or both, for examination or other purposes, to raise the patient into a sitting position, to lift the patient so that the bedding can be changed, to rotate the patient from back to stomach or vice versa, or to lift the patient completely out of bed to a wheel chair of the like. All of the foregoing operations and others should be performed gradually and smoothly so that the patient is not discomforted in any way, and the apparatus should perform the operations automatically so that a nurse, the patient's wife, or any other person can safely lift the patient without physical effort.

Lift devices have been provided in the past, but I am not aware of any device whichperforms all of the operations of the inventive apparatus or performs them as safely or smoothly so that the patient is not discomforted.

SUMMARY The invention solves these and other problems by providing a lift apparatus which performs the foregoing operations automatically yet safely and smoothly so that the patient is hardly aware of movement. The head and foot ends of the rectangular frame can be raised and lowered individually or simultaneously, and the cable and pulleys provide smooth, gradual movement to the frame. The sheet which supports the patient may be provided with an elongated central opening which is releasably closed by a zipper or the like to permit the patient to be transferred to a bed through the opening. The patient can be raised to a sitting position or lifted completely out of bed to a wheel chair or the like by the lift boom.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention will be explained in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which-- FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the inventive appara- FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus positioned about a hospital bed;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. I showing the connection of the sheet to the rectangular frame;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of the lift means;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the foot frame taken along the line 8--8 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a top plan view showing the apparatus supporting a patient;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the line l0-- 10 of FIG. 8 and illustrating the method of rotating the patient; and

FIG. 111 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the lift boom lifting a patient from a bed to a wheel chair.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. l and 2, the numeral 15 designates generally a lift apparatus which includes spaced-apart vertically extending head and foot frames 16 and 117, respectively, and a generally horizontally extending generally rectangular lifting frame 18. The lifting frame is rotatably supported by L-shaped tubular members 19 and 20 which extend from the head and foot frames, and the apparatus includes power means for raising and lowering the tubular members 19 and 20 selectively or simultaneously to raise and lower the head end of the frame 1%, the foot end, or both the head end and the foot end. A boom 21 is swingably supported by the head frame and'supports a lift bar 22, which may include a pair ofsnap hooks 23 at the ends thereof.

The means for raising and lowering the tubular member 19 is illustrated in FIGS. ll-7. The head frame 16 includes apair of spaced-apart vertically extending tubular bars 24 and 25 which extend from the bottom to the top of the head frame and an intermediate tubular support bar 26 which is joined to the bars 24 and 25 by horizontal braces 28, 29 and 30.A lower brace 31 may extend between the bars 24 and 25 adjacent the lower ends thereof.

The L-shaped tubular member 19 extends outwardly from a vertically extending tube or scope 32 which is telescopingly received on the tube 26 for sliding movement therealong above the horizontal brace 30 and which is supported by the brace in its lowermost position illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 7. Referring to FIG. 6, the tubular members 26 and 32 may advantageously have rectangular cross sections with the outer periphery of the tube 26 sized slightly smaller than the inner periphery of the tube 32.

A pulley 36 is rotatably mounted on the lower end of the scope 32 for vertical movement therewith, and a pair of upper pulleys 38 and 40 are rotatably mounted on the bars as and 25, respectively. The pulleys may be mounted in any conventional way, as by a tubular sleeve which rotatably receives the axle of the pulley and which is welded to the scope 32 or bars 24 and 25.

The boom 21 is generally L-shaped and includes an outer portion 211a which extends generally horizontally from the head frameand an inner portion 21b which extends vertically downwardly within the head frame. The lower end of the boom is rotatably supported by a suitable bearing supported within a collar 41, and the collar 41 is secured to the vertical bars 24 and 25.

A cable 42 extends upwardly within the head frame from a pulley 44 rotatably mounted on the bar 23 adjacent the bottom thereof and is reaved over the pulleys Ml and W and then over the pulley 36.1116 cable extends from the pulley 36 upwardly through the central opening of the boom support collar M (FIG. 2) and into the hollow boom'2l. The cable then extends over a pulley M rotatably mounted in the boom at the elbow provided by the outer and inner portions 21a and 21b and over a pulley 48 rotatably within the boom adjacent the outer end thereof. The outer end 62a of the cable extends downwardly from the boom and may be provided with an attaching hook W for supporting the lift bar 22. t

The interior of the head frame is enclosed by front and rear panels 52 and 54 and a pair of side panels 56 and 58. The lower portion of the head frame extends laterally outwardly from the upper portion thereof at about the vertical midpoint of the frame. An elongated vertically extending opening 59, (FIG. 4) is provided in the front panel to permit vertical movement of the L- shaped support bar 19, and an opening 60 is provided in the front panel 52 in front of the pulley 44 to permit the cable to extend from the head frame to the foot frame.

The means for raising and lowering the L-shaped support tube is illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. The foot frame includes a pair of spaced-apart vertically extending tubular bars 62 and 64 which extend between the top and bottom of the frame and an intermediate tubular support bar 66 which is secured to the bars 62 and 64 by horizontal braces 68 and 69. The L-shaped tubular member 20 extends outwardly from a vertically extending tube or scope 70 which is telescopingly received on the intermediate tubular bar 66 for vertical sliding movement therealong above the brace 69. The scope is supported by the brace 69 when the scope is in its lowermost position illustrated in FIG. 8. A pair of pulleys 74 and 76 are rotatably mounted to the vertical bars 62 and 64, respectively, and a pulley 78 is rotatably mounted on the telescoping tube 70 for vertical movement therewith. Another pair of pulleys 80 and 81 are secured to the vertical bars 62 and 64 adjacent the bottom thereof.

The cable 42 extends from the pulley 44 at the bottom of the head frame around the pulley 81 and up to the pulley 76 at the upper end of the foot frame. The cable then extends downwardly to the vertically movable pulley 78 and back to the pulley 74 at the top of the head frame. The cable extends from the pulley 74 down to the pulley 80 and then to an electric winch designated generally by the numeral 82 which is enclosed within housing 83 which extends outwardly from the bottom of the head frame. The interior of the foot frame is enclosed by front and rear panels 84 and 85 and side panels 86 and 87. The front panel is provided with suitable openings at the bottom thereof to permit the cable to extend between the pulley 81 and the head frame and between the pulley 80 and the winch, and an elongated vertically extending opening is provided through the front panel to permit vertical movement of the support bar 20.

The winch includes an electric motor 88, a gear reduction box 90 connected to the rotary drive shaft of the motor, and a wind-up shaft 92 rotatably supported by a pair of pillow blocks 94 and 96 mounted within the housing 86. A large-diameter sprocket 98 is secured to the shaft 92 for rotation therewith, and a smalldiameter sprocket 100 is secured to the driven shaft of the gear reduction box. The sprockets are operatively connected by a chain 102, and the cable 42 is connected to the shaft for winding thereon. The housing 83 is provided with a cable opening 103. In one specific embodiment the rpm of the drive shaft of the motor was 1,750, and the gear reduction box reduced the rotational speed of the small sprocket 100 to about 29.5 rpm. The rotational speed of the shaft 92 was reduced even further by the ratio between the sprockets 100 and 98, and the shaft 92 had a diameter of about 34 inch.

The vertically movable pulleys 36 and 78 within the head and foot frames, respectively, may be raised by securing the outer end 42a of the cable and then winding the other end of the cable about the shaft 92. The hook 50 on the outer end of the cable provides a convenient anchoring means for the cable, and the hook can be attached to a convenient hook or anchor secured to the boom or the head frame after removing the lift bar 22. Alternatively, the cable can be secured by means of the hooks 23 on the lift bar.

When the outer end 42a of the cable is anchored and as the cable is wound about the shaft 92 of the winch, the effective length of the cable is reduced and the movable pulleys 36 and 78 are drawn upwardly toward, respectively, the stationary pulleys 38 and 40 on the head frame and the stationary pulleys 74 and 76 on the foot frame. Upward movement of the pulleys 36 and 78 raises the scopes 32 and and the L-shaped lift frame support members 19 and 20, thereby raising the frame 18. When the rotation of the shaft is reversed to permit the cable to unwind the increase the effective length of the cable, the movable pulleys 36 and 78 will move downwardly under the influence of gravity. The term stationary as used with respect to the pulleys 38, 40, 74, and 76 is intended to mean that the pulleys are secured against vertical movement. It will be understood that these pulleys do rotate as the cable passes around the axes thereof.

As will be explained more fully hereinafter, the scopes 32 and 70 can be locked against vertical movement when desired to permit the outer end 42a of the cable to be raised and lowered by winding or unwinding the cable about the shaft 92. If only one of the scopes is locked against vertical movement and the outer end 42a of the cable remains anchored, then only one of the movable pulleys 36 and 78 will be raised to lift only the head or the foot end of the frame 18 as desired.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4 and 9, the lifting frame 18 is seen to include a generally rectangularly extending tubular frame member 112 and a supporting sheet 114 secured within the rectangular frame. The frame 112 includes a hollow tubular head portion 116 which is rotatably secured to the support member 19 by a pin 118 (FIG. 4) and a hollow tubular foot portion 120 which is similarly rotatably secured to the tubular member 20. The rectangular frame 112 also includes a pair of C-shaped side portions 122 and 124, the end portions of which are telescopingly received in the tubular head and foot portions 1 16 and 120 to permit the width of the frame 112 to be adjusted as desired and to permit the sides of the frame to be withdrawn.

A plurality of openings 126 are provided through the supporting sheet 1 14 around the periphery thereof, and each opening may be reinforced with a metal grommet 128 (FIG. 3) or the like. The sheet is secured to the perimetrically extending supporting frame 112 by eye bolts 130 which extend through the frame and are secured by nuts 132. A zipper 134 extends along the central longitudinal axis of the sheet to permit the sheet to be opened and passed around a patient lying in bed.

If desired, the head and foot frames may be provided with suitable casters 136 and 138 FIG. 2) and the winch housing 83 may be provided with casters 140 to permit the apparatus to be moved about. Conventional braking means may be provided on the casters to secure the apparatus against movement when a patient is to be lifted.

A stabilizing frame 144 is secured to the front panel 84 of the foot frame and includes horizontally extending tubular members 145 and 146 and vertically extending tubular members 147, 148, 149 and 150. The outer ends of the horizontal members 145 and 146 may be opened as at 145a and 146a to permit further stabilizing members or outrigger frames to be telescopingly received therein, and casters 151 may be secured to the lower ends of the members 148 and 149.

A stabilizing frame 152 (FIG. 4) is also secured to the front panel 52 of the head frame and includes horizon tal members 153 and 154 and vertical members 155 and 156. The outer ends of the horizontal members 163 and 154, may be similarly provided with open ends 153a and 154a (FIG. I) to permit outrigger frames to be telescopingly received therein.

A pair of forward and reverse electric switches 157 and 158 are mounted on the stabilizing frame 152 and are both operatively connected to the electric motor 68 to. permit the motor to be operated from either side of the head frame.

A drift pin 159 (FIG. 4) is secured to the stabilizing frame 152 by chain 160, and the pin can be used to secure the telescoping member 32 of the head frame against upward vertical movement by inserting the pin through an opening in the tubular support member 26 located just above the telescoping member when it is in its lowermost position. Similarly, the telescoping member 70 of the foot frame canbe secured against vertical movement by drift pin (FIG. 1) which hangs on chain 162 secured to the stabilizing frame 144 and which can be inserted into an opening in the tube 66.

The size of the supporting sheet 114 corresponds to the size of a standard hospital bed, and a patient on the bed can be lifted by positioning the lift frame 1.12 over the bed. If the patient is not already lying on a supporting sheet provided with the openings 126 around the periphery thereof, such a sheet can be positioned under the patient by opening the zipper 134 and passing the sheet downwardly around the patient. The zipper can then be closed and the patient positioned above the supporting sheet with a minimum of movement. The supporting sheet can then be attached to the lift frame 112 by the eye bolts 130, and the hook 511 on the outer end of the cable or the hooks 23 on the lift bar 22 can be secured to a suitable attachment ring on the head frame. One of the switches 157 or 158 may then be activated to cause the winch to wind up the cable 412.

Referring to FIG. 2, the lifting frame 18 is shown positioned about a hospital bed B on which a patient P is resting, the sheet 114 being positioned between the patient and the bed. As the cable is wound by the winch, the movable pulleys 36 and 78 are raised vertically and move the L-shaped support members 19 and 26 to elevated positions shown in phantom and indicated at W and Elevation of the patient to the position indicated in phantom at P permits the bed linens to be changed, permits a bed pan to be placed under the patient, permits the patient to be X-rayed,-and permits a number of other advantageous operations which could not be easily performed if the patient were lying in bed.

When the patient is to be returned to bed, the winch is operated to unwind the cable to lower the lift frame to a position just above the bed. The zipper 1% can then be opened to allow the patient to gently pass through the central opening in the supporting sheet and onto the bed.

At times it may be desirable to lift only the head of the patient or only the foot of the patient. If only the head end of the lift frame is to be raised, for example to permit the patient to eat or to assume a more upright position, the drift pin 161 may be inserted into the opening in the tubular support 66 above the telescoping member to secure these parts against relative movement. The pulley 78 will thereby become fixed against vertical movement, and winding of the cable by the winch will raise only the pulley 36 within the head frame. Similarly, the foot portion only of the lift frame can be raised by securing the telescoping member 32 of the head frame against vertical movement by the drift pin 1.59.

The use of the apparatus to change a patient from a supine to a prone position or vice verse is illustrated in FIG. 10. The lift frame 18 is positioned about the bed B, and the patient P is lying on his back supported by the sheet 116. A similar supporting sheet 114a is positioned over the patient and attached to the eye bolts of the lift frame. The lift frame is then elevated sufficiently to permit rotation of the lift frame about the rotatable connections to the L-shaped support members 19 and 211, the elevated and rotated frame being indicated in phantom at 18'. The patient is thereby positioned in a face down position indicated at P in which he is supported by the sheet 114a. The lift frame can then be lowered to a position slightly over the bed, and the zipper of the sheet 1 Ma can be opened to return the patient to the bed.

' If it is desired to raise the patient to a sitting position, the supporting sheet can be detached from the eye bolts of the lift frame, and the telescoping members 32 and 76 can be locked by the drift pins. The hooks 23 of the lift her 22 are attached to openings on opposite sides of the supporting sheet 114 at the head end thereof, and the winch is operated to wind the cable. Since the pulleys 36 and 76 cannot move vertically, the outer end 42a of the cable is drawn upwardly, causing the lift bar to raise the head end of the supporting sheet. The lift bar can be raised to bring the patient to the desired position between an inclined position and a full sitting position.

At times it is desirable to lift the patient completely out of bed, as when the patient is to be transferred to a wheelchair or the like. A second lift bar 22a (FIG. 11) can then be attached to the first lift bar by a cable 162 having a length of about 1 to 1% feet. The books 23 are attached to opposite sides of the sheet 114 at the head end thereof, and the hooks 23a of the lift bar 22a are attached to opposite sides of the sheet between the waist and knees of the patient. As the cable is wound by the winch, the lift bar 22 lifts the head end of the supporting sheet and the upper portion of the patient, and as the cable 162 between the two lift bars becomes tensioned, the intermediate portion of the central sheet between the patients waist and knees is also lifted. The length of the sheet between the hooks 23 and the hooks 23a is greater than the length of the cable 162, and the supporting sheet is thereby formed into a lifting sling or hammock as shown in FIG. 11 in which the sheet ektends downwardly from the books 230 to support the buttocks and then upwardly to the hooks 23. The patient can therefore be safely and comfortably lifted from bed. The length of the hooks 23am 2% permit the lift bars to be attached at points on the sheet which are farther apart than the length of the cable 1162. As

the patient is lifted from the bed, the boom can be swung to either side of the bed to position the patient over a wheelchair or the like, and the cable can then be unwound to lower the patient into the chair. The entire transfer operation can thus be performed without any exertion on the patients part.

In all of the foregoing operations the cable is wound and unwound smoothly by the winch and provides a safe, smooth, gradual lifting force to the movable pulleys 36 and 78 and to the lift bars 22 and 22a. The effective rotational speed of the winch is reduced by the gear box 90 and the sprockets 100 and 98, and the raising and lowering speed is further reduced by virtue of the double length of cable which acts on each movable pulley. For every inch of cable retraction, the movable pulley will move only '6 inch, thereby not only reducing the lifting speed of the pulley but providing a mechanical advantage. The movement of the apparatus is thereby reduced to a point that the patient experiences little or no sensation of movement, and he therefore does not suffer any discomfort or anxiety while being moved.

The apparatus is particularly useful for persons who suffer from paralysis or who are otherwise incapable of moving themselves, but as used herein the term invalid" is not meant to be so limited but is meant to include persons who either cannot or should not exert themselves.

While in the foregoing specification a detailed description of a specific embodiment was set forth for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that many of the details herein given may be varied considerably by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. An invalid lift apparatus comprising a generally vertically extending head frame, a generally vertically extending foot frame, vertically movable head support means mounted on the head frame, vertically movable foot support means mounted on the foot frame, a generally rectangular lifting frame extending between the head and foot frames and secured to the head support means and the foot support means for vertical movement therewith, power means for raising and lowering the head and foot support means and the lifting frame, boom means mounted on the head frame a pair of lift means supported by a cable, the cable being supported by the boom means and being connected to power means for winding and unwinding the cable, the lifting frame including a support sheet detachably secured to the rectangular frame, and means on the lift means for releasably attaching the lift means to the support sheet.

2. An invalid lift apparatus comprising a generally vertically extending head frame, a generally vertically extending foot frame, vertically movable head support means slidably mounted on the head frame, vertically movable foot support means slidably mounted on the foot frame, a lifting frame extending between the head and foot frames and secured to the head support means and the foot support means for vertical movement therewith, and power means for raising and lowering the head and foot support means and the lifting frame, the head frame including a generally vertically extending tubular support, the head support means including a generally vertically extending tube telescopingly received on the tubular support, a movable pulley rotatably mounted on the head support means for vertical movement therewith, a pair of stationary pulleys rotatably mounted on the head frame above the movable pulley, the foot frame including a generally vertically extending tubular support, the foot support means including a generally vertically extending tube telescopingly received on the tubular support of the foot frame, a movable pulley rotatably mounted on the foot support means for vertical movement therewith, a pair of stationary pulleys rotatably mounted on the foot frame above the movable pulley on the foot support means, a cable extending around the movable pulley on the foot support means and the stationary pulleys on the foot frame and around the movable pulley on the head support means and the stationary pulleys on the head support means and having a pair of ends, the power means including means for winding and unwinding one end of the cable, means for anchoring the other end of the cable whereby the movable pulleys are raised toward the stationary pulleys as the cable is wound by the power means and are lowered away from the stationary pulleys as the cable is unwound by the cable means.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 including a boom mounted on the head frame, the cable extending from the power means to the foot frame and being reaved over one of the stationary pulleys on the foot frame and then over the movable pulley on the foot support means and then over the other stationary pulley on the foot frame, the cable extending from the foot frame to the head frame and being reaved over the stationary pulleys on the head frame and then over the movable pulley on the head support means, the cable extending from the movable pulley on the head support means to the boom, the other end of the cable extending generally downwardly from the boom.

4. An invalid lift apparatus comprising a frame having a wheel-equipped head frame portion and a wheelequipped foot frame portion, vertically movable head support means and vertically movable foot support means mounted on the frame, each of the head support means and the foot support means including a downwardly extending vertically movable tubular portion terminating in a lower end, a generally rectangularly extending lifting frame extending between the head and foot frame portions and having tubular head and foot portions and a pair of tubular side portions, each of the side portions including a plurality of spaced-apart hook means, a generally rectangular support sheet extending between the side portions of the lifting frame and being provided with openings receiving the hook means of the side portions whereby the sheet is removably attached to the lifting frame, the head portion of the lifting frame being pivotally attached to the lower end of the tubular portion of the head support means and the foot portion of the lifting frame being pivotally attached to the lower end of the tubular portion of the foot support means, and power means for raising and lowering the head and foot support means and the lifting frame.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which the support sheet is provided with an elongated central opening extending from adjacent the head portion of the lifting frame to adjacent the foot portion of the lifting frame. 0 I Q i 

1. An invalid lift apparatus comprising a generally vertically extending head frame, a generally vertically extending foot frame, vertically movable head support means mounted on the head frame, vertically movable foot support means mounted on the foot frame, a generally rectangular lifting frame extending between the head and foot frames and secured to the head support means and the foot support means for vertical movement therewith, power means for raising and lowering the head and foot support means and the lifting frame, boom means mounted on the head frame, a pair of lift means supported by a cable, the cable being supported by the boom means and being connected to power means for winding and unwinding the cable, the lifting frame including a support sheet detachably secured to the rectangular frame, and means on the lift means for releasably attaching the lift means to the support sheet.
 2. An invalid lift apparatus comprising a generally vertically extending head frame, a generally vertically extending foot frame, vertically movable head support means slidably mounted on the head frame, vertically movable foot support means slidably mounted on the foot frame, a lifting frame extending between the head and foot frames and secured to the head support means and the foot support means for vertical movement therewith, and power means for raising and lowering the head and foot support means and the lifting frame, the head frame including a generally vertically extending tubular support, the head support means including a generally vertically extending tube telescopingly received on the tubular support, a movable pulley rotatably mounted on the head support means for vertical movement therewith, a pair of stationary pulleys rotatably mounted on the head frame above the movable pulley, the foot frame including a generally vertically extending tubular support, the foot support means including a generally vertically extending tube telescopingly received on the tubular support of the foot frame, a movable pulley rotatably mounted on the foot support means for vertical movement therewith, a pair of stationary pulleys rotatably mounted on the foot frame above the movable pulley on the foot support means, a cable extending around the movable pulley on the foot support means and the stationary pulleys on the foot frame and around the movable pulley on the head support means and the stationary pulleys on the head support means and having a pair of ends, the power means including means for winding and unwinding one end of the cable, means for anchoring the other end of the cable whereby the movable pulleys are raised toward the stationary pulleys as the cable is wound by the power means and are lowered away from the stationary pulleys as the cable is unwound by the cable means.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 including a boom mounted on the head frame, the cable extending from the power means to the foot frame and being reaved over one of the stationary pulleys on the foot frame and then over the movable pulley on the foot support means and then over the other stationary pulley on the foot frame, the cable extending from the foot frame to the head frame and being reaved over the stationary pulleys on the head frame and then over the movable pulley on the head support means, the cable extending from the movable pulley on the head support means to the boom, the other end of the cable extending generally downwardly from the boom.
 4. An invalid lift apparatus comprising a frame having a wheel-equipped head frame portion and a wheel-equipped foot frame portion, vertically movable head support means and vertically movable foot support means mounted on the frame, each of the head support means and the foot support means including a downwardly extending vertically movable tubular portion terminating in a lOwer end, a generally rectangularly extending lifting frame extending between the head and foot frame portions and having tubular head and foot portions and a pair of tubular side portions, each of the side portions including a plurality of spaced-apart hook means, a generally rectangular support sheet extending between the side portions of the lifting frame and being provided with openings receiving the hook means of the side portions whereby the sheet is removably attached to the lifting frame, the head portion of the lifting frame being pivotally attached to the lower end of the tubular portion of the head support means and the foot portion of the lifting frame being pivotally attached to the lower end of the tubular portion of the foot support means, and power means for raising and lowering the head and foot support means and the lifting frame.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 in which the support sheet is provided with an elongated central opening extending from adjacent the head portion of the lifting frame to adjacent the foot portion of the lifting frame. 